1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for generating ozone from oxygen or from an oxygen containing gas by silent electric discharges in a discharge gap through which the gas flows and which is essentially formed by a tubular outer electrode and by tubular inner electrodes provided with a dielectric and concentrically surrounded by the outer electrode, which are electrically connected to one another, and a means for spacing the dielectric from the outer electrode.
In this connection, the invention relates to a prior art as is found, for example, in EP-A-0313 802.
2. Discussion of Background
Ozone is a very strong oxidant for organic substances and for inorganic compounds containing elements having several oxidation states. Apart from a large variety of applications in chemistry, it has been used for decades in water conditioning. Although there are theoretically many possibilities for generating ozone, only ozone generation by means of silent electric discharge has hitherto claimed any significance in practice.
In contrast to plate-type ozone generators, tubular ozone generators present problems in ensuring accurate spacing between the electrodes. This is mainly caused by dimensional deviations of the tube diameters, and bending. Segmentation of the inner tubes according to EP-A-0313 802 provides a remedy in this case. Instead of one tube, two or more inner tubes are provided which are supported and spaced independently from one another in the outer tube. However, segmentation entails an increased complexity in electrically connecting the inner tubes.